''Un re in ascolto'' (''A King Listens'') is an opera by

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled ''Sequenza''), and for his pioneering work ...

, who also wrote the

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libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

. It is based on a short story from the collection '' Under the Jaguar Sun'' by

Italo Calvino Italo Calvino (, also , ;. RAI (circa 1970), retrieved 25 October 2012. 15 October 1923 – 19 September 1985) was an Italian writer and journalist. His best known works include the ''Our Ancestors'' trilogy (1952–1959), the '' Cosmicomi ...

, but incorporates excerpts from Friedrich Einsiedel's 1778 libretto (as reworked by

Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter (3 September 1746 – 18 March 1797) was a German poet and dramatist. Biography He was born at Gotha. He started out studying law, but early on was influenced to write for the theatre. After the completion of his univer ...

between 1790 and 1791) for an opera based on Shakespeare's '' The Tempest''. This became '' Die Geisterinsel'' in 1798, set to music written by

Friedrich Fleischmann Johann Friedrich Anton Fleischmann (19 July 1766 – 30 November 1798) was a German composer.Some sources give his first name as Josef rather than Johann. Life and career Born at Marktheidenfeld, Fleischmann studied at Mannheim with Ignaz Holz ...

. In addition,

W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in ...

's '' The Sea and the Mirror: A Commentary on Shakespeare's The Tempest'' was a source. Berio himself described the work as an ''azione musicale'' (musical action) rather than an opera. It falls into 19 sections grouped into two parts. The work was written from 1981 to 1983 and it received its premiere at the Kleines Festspielhaus in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

on 7 August 1984, conducted by

Lorin Maazel Lorin Varencove Maazel (, March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in th ...

, directed by

Götz Friedrich Götz Friedrich (4 August 1930 in Naumburg, Germany – 12 December 2000 in Berlin, Germany) was a German opera and theatre director. He was a student and assistant of Walter Felsenstein at the Komische Oper Berlin in (East) Berlin, where he we ...

, with set designs by Günther Schneider-Siemssen.Loveland, Kenneth (October 1984), "Reports: Salzburg", ''The Musical Times'', 125 (1700): p. 588. The London premiere took place on 9 February 1989 at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

, Covent Garden. The American premiere was at

Lyric Opera of Chicago Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria ...

on 9 November 1996, conducted by

Dennis Russell Davies Dennis Russell Davies (born April 16, 1944 in Toledo, Ohio) is an American conductor and pianist, He is currently the music director and chief conductor of the Brno Philharmonic. Biography Davies studied piano and conducting at the Juilliard Sch ...

Roles

Synopsis

The opera does not have a conventional linear narrative. A king of a mythical kingdom lives detached from his realm where his only contact with his kingdom is through overhearing conversations. A traveling theatrical troupe arrives to stage a performance of ''The Tempest''. As the king overhears the auditions and the rehearsals, he begins to imagine himself as Prospero from the play and he begins to equate these with the happenings in his kingdom, blurring the two worlds. Eventually, he undergoes a psychological collapse, the rehearsed production of ''The Tempest'' never occurs, and the theatrical troupe departs. The king has a vision of the future as he moves towards his own death.

Recording

*Luciano Berio: ''Un re in ascolto'' (Theo Adam, Heinz Zednik, Sylvia Greenberg, Gabriele Sima, Helmut Wildhaber, Patricia Wise, Karan Armstrong, Rohangiz Yachmi, Anna Gonda, Helmuth Lohner;

Vienna Philharmonic The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. It ...

; Conductor: Lorin Maazel) CD 1999. Label: Col Legno 20005

References

Notes Sources * * Holden, Amanda (Ed.), ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001.
The publisher's description
— Universal Edition *Wilson, Robert J. (1998), "Shakespeare, William" in

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...

, (Ed.), ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...

'', Vol. Four. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc. 1998 {{DEFAULTSORT:Re in ascolto, Un 1984 operas Operas Operas by Luciano Berio Adaptations of works by Italo Calvino Italian-language operas